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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
C. HARI SHANKAR, OM PRAKASH SHUKLA, JJ.
Vasundhra Jewellers Pvt. Ltd. - Appellant
Versus
M/S Vasundhara Fashion Jewellery Llp & Anr. – Respondent
FAO(OS) (COMM) 232/2023 & CM APPL. 55117/2023
Decided on : 18-08-2025
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. case introduction and initial proceedings (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5) |
| 2. appellant's factual claims and trademarks (Para 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14) |
| 3. respondents' defense and counterarguments (Para 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24) |
| 4. court's observations and reasoning (Para 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 34 , 35) |
| 5. application of section 35 in passing off case (Para 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 48 , 54 , 56 , 57) |
| 6. assessment of goodwill in passing off (Para 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 70 , 74 , 75 , 76) |
| 7. conclusion and affirmation of the judgment (Para 79 , 80 , 81 , 82) |
C. HARI SHANKAR, J.
1. This appeal assails order dated 19 July 2023 passed by a learned Single Judge of this Court in IA 4154/2022 in CS (COMM) 161/2022, Vasundhra Jewellers Pvt. Ltd. v Vasundhara Fashion Jewelery LLP & Anr
2. The appellant is the plaintiff, and the respondents are the defendants in the suit, which is presently pending before the learned Single Judge.
3. In the suit, the appellant has sought a decree of permanent injunction, restraining the respondents and all others acting on their behalf from manufacturing, selling, exporting, advertising or in any other manner dealing with jewellery, precious stones, gems and any other allied or cognate goods or services under the marks and domain names VASUNDHARA JEWELLERS, VASUNDHRA, 
or 
, the domain name www.vasundhara.in or any other mark, label or domain name which is identical or deceptively similar to the appellant’s marks VASUNDHRA, VASUNDHRA JEWELLERS, 
or VASUNDHRA.
4. The suit was accompanied by IA 4154/2022, preferred under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the CPC, whereby the appellant prayed that, pending disposal of the suit, the respondents be injuncted from using the aforenoted marks VASUNDHARA JEWELLERS, VASUNDHRA, 
or 
for jewellery, precious stones, gems or any other allied or cognate goods.
5. By the impugned judgment, the learned Single Judge has dismissed IA 4154/2022. Aggrieved thereby, the appellant has filed the present appeal.
Rival Pleadings
Appellant’s submissions in the suit
6. The appellant was established on 28 October 1999 as Vasundhra Jewellers Private Limited. Since then, the appellant claimed to have been using VASUNDHRA and VASUNDHRA JEWELLERS as its trademarks.
7. The appellant is also the proprietor of the following registered trademarks in Class 14 of the Nice classification of trademarks, which has been incorporated in Section 7 of the Trade Marks Act, 1999 :
| Trade Mark | Date of Application | User | Class | Specification of Goods and Services |
 | 23 May 2023 | 1 January 1999 | 14 | Jewellery in Precious Metal and Gems. |
 | 22 May 2019 | 28 October 1999 | 14 | Precious metals or coated therewith jewellery including imitation jewellery and precious stones. All being goods included in class 14. |
 | 19 December 2017 | 17 October 2016 | 14 | Precious metals or coated therewith jewellery including imitation jewellery and precious stones. All being goods included in class 14. |
8. Since 26 June 2011, the appellant also claims to be the owner of the domain name www.vasundhrajewellers.com and other similar domain names.
9. The appellant also claims the following turnover of its business, which commenced in 1999-20:
| Year | Sale proceeds |
| 1999-2000 | ₹ 19,80,812/- |
| 2000-2001 | ₹ 2,81,80,175/- |
| 2001-2002 | ₹ 1,97,26,465/- |
| 2002-2003 | ₹ 3,69,36,170/- |
| 2016-2017 | ₹ 44,82,31,111/- |
| 2017-2018 | ₹ 49,36,14,187/- |
10. The appellant had also placed on record its advertisement and promotional expenses incurred by it for the years 1999-2000 till 2021- 2022. Of these, the figures for the years 1999-2000 till 2008-2009 may be extracted thus as provided in the plaint:
| Financial Year | Promotional Expenses (₹) |
| 1999-2000 | 43,254 |
| 2000-2001 | 92,848 |
| 2001-2002 | 29,200 |
| 2002-2003 | 4,35,419 |
| 2003-2004 | 11,45,489 |
| 2004-2005 | 10,22,808 |
| 2005-2006 | 1,70,175 |
| 2006-2007 | 7,14,114 |
| 2007-2008 | 2,19,120 |
| 2008-2009 | 20,43,629 |
| 2009-2010 | 64,58,243 |
| 2010-2011 | 52,62,228 |
| 2011-2012 | 36,87,717 |
| 2012-2013 | 24,98,755 |
| 2013-2014 | 1,78,010 |
| 2014-2015 | 1,06,166 |
| 2015-2016 | 8,58,860 |
| 2016-2017 | 22,37,105 |
| 2017-2018 | 11,59,521 |
| 2018-2019 | 3,45,759 |
| 2019-2020 | 4,31,212 |
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In trademark disputes, a plaintiff must establish goodwill to succeed in passing off actions, and demonstrating bona fide use prevails over prior use claims where underlying rights are transferred.
The defendant was entitled to the benefit of defense under Section 35 of the Act as it had been using the mark 'VASUNDHARA' in a bona fide manner since 2001.
The judgment emphasizes that the exclusive right to use a trade mark is limited to what has been registered and cannot extend to common names. It also highlights the importance of distinctiveness, go....
The plaintiff failed to establish exclusive rights over the common name 'VASUNDHRA', resulting in dismissal of the injunction application due to lack of a prima facie case.
The court held that registration of trademarks does not grant exclusive rights over a common or partially generic term, emphasizing the need for distinctiveness to prevent confusion.
A claimant may fail to make out a case of infringement of a trade mark for various reasons and may yet show that by imitating the mark claimed as a trademark, or otherwise, the Defendant has done wha....
The prior user of a trademark has superior rights in passing off actions, regardless of subsequent registration by another party.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the entitlement of the plaintiff to a permanent injunction for passing off its mark 'SANDHI SUDHA' and the consideration of the defendants' non-rep....
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